The new army, which Chen Zhun had trained in a hurry and was barely able to fight a war, had two shortcomings that could not be solved in a short period of time, one was that it was not conducive to mobility, and the other was that the artillery could not exert its might in rainy days.

Due to the road conditions and transportation constraints of this era, many equipment could only be carried on the shoulders of people in addition to being loaded with chariots and horses. Not only that, but a large number of projectiles, gunpowder, heavy crossbow arrows, supplies, and other baggage must be supported by a special logistics unit.

Based on the calculation of one carriage for artillery and one carriage for gunpowder and projectiles, each gun must be equipped with two carriages that can protect from the wind and rain. It is undoubtedly unrealistic to consider both the cost of equipment and the ability to maneuver.

There is no doubt about the sharpness of firearms, and any new equipment and new tactics need to be tested through actual combat. It's a mule or a horse, pull it out and take a walk first!

On July 16, Chen Zhun, the general of the cavalry, was in high spirits and led his army out of the city, and the troops were sent to Suizhou. Yang Zhi, the general of Zhengchu, personally sent him off.

Walking to the flag-planting boulder of Yang Zhi five miles outside the city, Chen Zhun subconsciously looked back, but unexpectedly saw Wei Feiyang. Le Ma stopped and asked suspiciously, "General Wei, why are you here?" But did you come to see me off on the orders of the commander? ”

"Yes and no. Brother Chen was only half right. There were 40,000 people who were ordered to come and see them off. ”

Chen Zhun was shocked when he heard this: "Forty thousand?!" Dashuai, is this determined to recover Suizhou? …… But I don't know if my new army can be used, and whether it will be good or not? ”

Yang Zhi once said to Chen Zhun unequivocally that this new army was a treasure in his eyes. 10,000 people are in charge of the establishment of a combat unit, and another 5,000 people are responsible for logistics supplies and baggage transportation. 5,000 men were guarded. If you add the 40,000 people that Wei Feiyang said, it is a heavy army group of 60,000 people! Discharge a huge array. What is it if it is not a siege?

Wei Feiyang said with a smile: "Suizhou must be recovered, but there is no hurry at this time. I have 20,000 soldiers. Just by the way to escort and watch the battle. Also going to watch the battle were more than 20 generals sent by various departments of the army. After Brother Chen shows his might, I will lead the army eastward. ”

Considering the inconvenience of transporting the ordnance and baggage of Brother Chen's troops, the marshal retreated to a place fifty miles outside Suizhou City after the battle, and ordered 20,000 soldiers to take care of the guards. Brother Chen only had to return to Xiangyang lightly and form another new army as soon as possible. At that time, the troops will be combined to capture Suizhou. ”

Chen Zhun thought for a moment and said solemnly: "In this way, the eyes of the handsome are not just staring at Suizhou. After this battle. When another new army is trained, plus the 20,000 soldiers of our army stationed along the line from Xiangyang to Suizhou, the marshal will not come alone, and the strength of our army assembled outside Suizhou City will be more than 100,000 at least. Flying, I am so fortunate that I am born at the right time! ”

Wei Feiyang said noncommittally: "Brother Chen, you are the main general and the protagonist in this battle. We've got you covered. The marshal expected that the Chu army would definitely fight, but it would definitely not fight to the death, so there should be no suspense about the outcome or defeat. Please forgive the little brother for being presumptuous. Brother Chen might as well fight more calmly and test the power of firearms and the effectiveness of echelon matching forces as much as possible. ”

Chen Zhun smiled suddenly: "The marshal ordered you to escort and watch the battle by the way, but you are also afraid that I will be hot-headed for a while and wave my army to attack the city, right?" ”

It's been less than two months. The Xia army sent 60,000 troops to investigate again, and soon sent it to the tent of the commander of the Suizhou Central Army.

Wen Huanzhang said worriedly: "Last time, Yang Zhi personally led 20,000 troops. This time, 60,000 troops were sent! Military division, Xia Jun is ready to attack the city! ”

Zhang Bohu vetoed without thinking about it: "Xia Jun is attacking this time." At most, it is only to find out the deployment of our army's forces to defend the city and prepare for the siege. If it was a siege, why didn't Yang Zhi come? According to the report, the 60,000 troops of the Xia army are divided into three divisions, and the banner shape is similar, which means that the leading generals of the three divisions have the same ranks. If it is a siege, how can there not be a commander in command? ”

Wen Huanzhang hesitated: "Then, according to the opinion of the military division, will our army send troops to meet the battle?" ”

Zhang Bohu said helplessly: "Wen Shuai, it is not alarmist in the future, combined with the battlefield situation and the overall situation, it is meaningless to send troops to meet the battle, the Xia army is determined to win Suizhou, and we will definitely not be able to hold it." The best way is to preserve the strength of our army as much as possible, stick to it without fighting, or simply abandon Suizhou on its own initiative and focus on the defense along Dongting Lake and the Yangtze River. This is the best policy. ”

Wen Huanzhang's old face twitched slightly, and said: "Listening to the meaning of the military advisor, it seems that there is a middle strategy and a lower strategy?" Let's put it bluntly. ”

"The middle strategy is a feint. Whether it is sending troops to meet the battle or defending the city, on the surface it is a posture of fighting to the death with the Xia army, but in fact, it is retreating at the touch of a button. In the following, he can send a letter to Tan Xiang to elaborate on the stakes and disadvantages, or personally lobby in person, prompting Da Chu to take the initiative to ask for peace with Da Xia, so as to buy time for Da Chu. Even if the peace agreement fails, it can buy months to arrange the troops. ”

"The next strategy is a hard-fought duel with Xia Jun, needless to say. I will still do my best to devise a plan for the commander. ”

Wen Huanzhang was silent for a long time, looked up to the sky and sighed: "Military advisor, do you know what the old man thinks in his heart? It's not a secret, the old man only hates you and I for not being born at the right time! The old man has commanded the army to resist the enemy for decades, how can he not know the general trend of the world? The old man has never taken personal honor and disgrace to heart, but he only wants to be fully loyal to Da Chu and have a clear conscience! ”

"Although the best policy of the military advisor is good, there is absolutely no possibility of implementation. The old man is not old and confused, and he will never be stupid enough to use the next strategy. Then adopt the middle strategy that the military advisor said! ”

"The old man's intention is to send 20,000 troops out of the city to meet the Xia army. You also know that the old man's every move on the front line can't hide from the ill-intentioned eyes of the DPRK. If only a few thousand or 10,000 troops are sent to meet an army of 60,000, it is obviously contrary to common sense, and even the blind can see that they are dealing with it sloppily. ”

Zhang Bohu was speechless for a while. After a moment of silence, he persuaded: "It's okay to send 20,000 troops, but you must pay attention to two sections: one is to divide the front and rear armies, and it is enough to go out of the city for ten miles, so that you can retreat at any time." Second, it is best not to fall in love with war, and it is best for our army to order the front army to change into the rear army and take the initiative to retreat after several rounds of crossbow arrow volleys. ”

Wen Huanzhang smiled bitterly: "Even if you have the intention to act, you have to look like that." Is the military advisor too cautious? ”

Zhang Bohu said coldly: "Last time, of course, it was Yang Zhi who came to the battle formation and captured the flag, which caused great confusion in the hearts of our army. But ask Wen Shuai to ask himself. How are the ordnance and troop allocation used by the Xia army compared to our army? Xia Jun came this time. Didn't Wen Shuai read the report in detail? Chen Zhun did not have an ordinary foot soldier in his department, and he carried a large number of firearms! Wei Feiyang is also a famous general of the Xia Army. His martial arts and strategies are all taught by Yang Zhi! ”

In his early years, he was exiled from Penglai and the islands off the coast of Shandong, and had many dealings with pirates and foreign merchants, and Yang Zhi also talked about the benefits of firearms many times in his spare time. We have to do the play, but there is no need to make too much senseless sacrifice. ”

Wen Huanzhang sighed: "The old man doesn't understand the benefits of firearms. When two armies fight, no matter whether they win or lose, there is always a price to pay. Later, there will be a labor division to teach them face-to-face. ”

What Wen Huanzhang and Zhang Bohu never expected was that "face-to-face teaching" would not work. The price paid by the Chu army was very heavy.

On July 23, the two armies went to war.

After Chen Zhun learned from the sentinel cavalry survey that the Chu army was divided into two formations, he immediately ordered 100 artillery pieces and 200 heavy crossbows to be deployed on the left and right flanks in turn, approaching the Chu army in a "concave" formation.

When Yang Zhi was promoted for the first time, he said that he would teach two lessons to the generals of all the armies. The first lesson was personally handled by him, although he was powerful in the first battle, it was extremely difficult for others to copy. The huge psychological impact brought by the second lesson to the generals watching the battle is indescribable with the word "shock".

Wei Feiyang, who was standing on a high place to watch the battle, and other generals who watched the battle saw with their own eyes that tens of thousands of people were fighting against each other. was perfectly interpreted by Chen Zhun into a one-sided massacre!

Comparatively speaking, artillery in this era was very troublesome to reload, with a short gap between firing due to reloading. The solution to this problem is usually at the expense of the power of the salvo. Split into several rounds to make up for the time gap caused by reloading.

Chen Zhun is a madman, a genius-like madman. A hundred artillery pieces after one salvo. Exit the battlefield immediately. Later, on the two hundred crossbow arrows, all of them were tied to about two catties of gunpowder bags mixed with gravel. Split into four volleys! …… It is equivalent to that before the two armies engaged, they first bombed the Chu army five times.

Before the Chu army came to its senses, the queen retreated. Chen Zhun decisively ordered that after a volley, 3,000 archers outflanked the pursuit from both sides, and the rest of the troops followed closely and followed to cover the kill.

In this battle, 20,000 Chu soldiers survived and fled back to Suizhou, and there were less than 3,000 left. In the Xia army, only more than 200 people were killed.

On the second day of October in the second year of Longchang in Xiali, Great Xia gathered 150,000 heavy troops outside Suizhou City to recruit Yang Zhisheng, the general of Chu. On the fourth day of the first month of October, the city of Suizhou was broken and returned to Daxia. Yang Zhi ordered the whole army to rest for one month.

On the seventh day of the second month of the third year of Longchang in Xiali, the cavalry general Chen Zhun captured Xiaogan, and the troops went straight to Jiangxia, the gateway of Chu.

On March 12 of the third year of Longchang in Xiali, the cavalry general Shen Chong's troops captured Jingzhou.

On the second day of the fourth month of the third year of Longchang in Xiali, the cavalry general Wei Feiyang captured Anqing, and the vanguard general Qian released troops to the city of Linjiangzhou.

On April 20 of the third year of Longchang in Xiali, the general of Pingnan, Ye Chuang, captured Fuzhou.

Yang Zhi served as the general of Zhengchu, and it was almost a year in the blink of an eye, and the general's line also moved to Xiaogan in early March with the development of the war situation.

Stationed in Xiaogan for less than two days, a family member came unexpectedly: Ah Fu, the chief servant of the Yang Mansion.

Ah Fu was covered in mud, his nose was blue and his face was swollen, and as soon as he saw Yang Zhi, he hugged his legs tightly and cried: "Young master, young master!" I've finally seen you! ”

Ah Fu became this virtuous character, and Yang Zhi's heart immediately hung high. Could it be that something happened in the family? Or is there something ...... the old man? But it's not like it! If Ah Fu came to report the funeral, he should also wear heavy filial piety.

He pulled Ah Fu up and said, "You get up first!" Speak well! What are you doing here? ”

Before Ah Fu could reply, Long Yu's face turned red, and he wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and said: "Da handsome, the villain saw that this person claimed to be your servant in a lively manner, and shouted to see the big handsome outside the gate, and the villain taught him a few ......." This big brother, the villain is going to accompany you, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! ”

Yang Zhi couldn't help crying and laughing. Ah Fu is good at everything, but the urine of the fox and the fake tiger has never changed. Long Yu is also a brainless fool, if you can't get used to it, forget it, so ask clearly and then start beating!

Ah Fu can be said to have won the true biography of the old man and Yang Zhi, wiped away his tears, and roared angrily: "I'm sorry, forget it?!" Money! ”

Yang Zhi waved his hand at Long Yu and said, "You go down first, and we'll talk about losing money later." - Ah Fu, why don't you stay at home and come here? Is this where you came from? (To be continued.) )